


You deserved better/...?

by traumschwinge



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Dubious Consent, Established Relationship, Estrangement, Family, Incest, Infidelity, M/M, Multi, Relationship Problems, blowjob
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-07
Updated: 2013-10-21
Packaged: 2017-12-28 17:21:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/994566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traumschwinge/pseuds/traumschwinge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his brother returns to his home heart broken, Gilbert tries his best to be a good big brother. That the two of them hadn't talked in years because Gilbert disapproved of Ludwig's now past-relationship doesn't help much. Now planned to be a ménage à trois in the end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ...better

Gilbert sat up straight to listen, when he heard a key being turned and the door to his Berlin flat was opened. He was sitting in the kitchen with his laptop on the table in front of him. It was Friday evening. He was supposed to be alone for the weekend like he always was. His brother only slept here when he had work to do in the capital.

“Did you forget something?” he yelled. He had planned on a lazy weekend on his own after all and West staying would crush all his plans to pieces. Besides, this was totally not awesome, because he knew much to well that his brother had a boyfriend and never stopped shoving that fact right into Gilbert's face. At least, that was Gilbert's opinion on that matter as he loathed that stupid Frenchman his brother had chosen to date. It wasn't like there were any worse men around, were there? Even dating Specs was more awesome than this and Specs was below the end of his personal not-awesome list if anyone asked him.

“No!” he heard West yell back as he slammed the door shut. From what it sounded like, his little brother had dropped his coat and briefcase and ran off into his room. Of course, he slammed that door shut as well, causing Gilbert to definitely not jump for a second time in barely a minute.

Gilbert waited for a while. He wasn't sure if he should go check on his baby brother. He had sounded pissed after all. Maybe they had had a fight today, he mused. Not that this was a particularly bad thing in Gilbert's book. But he still didn't like it if his brother was sad or pissed. What he did like, though, was the thought of him finally, after more than twenty years of persuasion from his awesome big brother, breaking up with that frog eater.

When he had heard nothing for much too long, Gilbert got up with a sigh. This weekend could have been so nice and quiet and lazy. Being a good big brother was really bothersome at times. He shuffled towards the door of Ludwig's room. He knocked, but there was no answer. So he poked his head in the room. West hadn't bothered with lights, so it took Gilbert a moment to notice that his brother was lying on the bed with his back to the door.

“Ludwig?” Gilbert whispered. “Is everything okay?” He tried to sound as sympathetic as possible. It wasn't that easy. He was grinning widely. There was only one reason he could think of that made his brother this miserably. He wondered what Francis had done to his poor baby brother. But he didn't ask. Not now, when his darling little brother was this sad. And he was. Gilbert could feel it.

He waited a moment for an answer. When there was none, he simply entered the room and sat down on the side of the bed. It was big enough for two – a fact Gilbert had grown to hate in more than one night – and so he was still somewhat away and yet close enough to reach out for him.

Listening now from a close position, Gilbert could hear his darling baby brother stifle sobs. In the twilight he could see him hug his cushion and his shoulders shaking. Gilbert bit down on his lips. This hadn't been how he had expected their break up. He had imagined West to run of with some pretty girl or cute guy. He didn't want his little brother to cry alone in his bed at night.

After a while, he gave in. He slipped off his shoes and laid down next to his brother. His attempts to pull his brother into an embrace was at first met with resistance, but he quickly gave in – quicker than Gilbert had ever expected him to. They hadn't been the closest of brothers lately.

Actually, they hadn't so much as talked to each other in months.  
They were still sharing a flat in Berlin, sure, but when it came down to everything, it was Gilbert's flat and Ludwig was sleeping in one of the rooms when he had work to do in Berlin and didn't find a way to get it transferred to Bonn or somewhere else. Which was surprisingly rare considering that Ludwig's main place of employment was still the Federal Chancellery. 

And on the weekends, Ludwig would drive back to his own place, the house he had lived in for the last sixty years. Gilbert wasn't sure he knew how he felt about his brother's house. When they decided to make Berlin the official capital back in the 90s, he was happy at first, thinking his brother would move in with him, that they would share his East Berlin flat, that always had been too big for one person living there. But Ludwig had refused to sell his house – and Gilbert had troubles with that as well, his brother had managed to live in a house while he only had a flat – and even refused to make Berlin his principal residence. It was stupid in Gilbert's opinion. But he couldn't argue with it after hearing his brother's argumentation. Having one of them offically living in the old capital would show that it was still as important as they tried to make it look like. And there were also ministries located there that Gilbert really shouldn't come close to – which was a joke, Gilbert had thought but then again, they were talking about the Ministry of Defense as well and his brother was a bit touchy on that one.

So Gilbert had given his spare bedroom to his brother and back then, he had been excited about it. But then, they had started to fight every time they had seen each other. And the meetings between them had become rarer over time. Ludwig had gotten up early and had showered and had breakfast before Gilbert even cared to wake. In the evenings, Ludwig would come back late after having eaten out and go straight to his room. Gilbert had hated this state of things between them. But he had been too awesome to ask his brother to go look for his own flat.

And now, he was glad he hadn't. While he was trying to comfort his sobbing little brother, he looked around the room. This wasn't what he had thought this room would look like – he had never entered it while Ludwig wasn't there and he had been not in the mood to do so if he was – and quite frankly, this room didn't look like a room a person lived in. It looked like this was a place to close one's eyes in, there was nothing personal here save maybe for a cell phone charger if that did even count and a book Gilbert bet his brother was trying to read for months.

It made Gilbert feel sad. And he wondered what Ludwig's own place looked like. He had only been there once. Back in 1989 – or maybe it already had been 1990 – he had thought about just moving to his brother. But they had started to fight over Ludwig's relationship as soon as Gilbert had heard of it. In the end, Gilbert had gone back to Berlin to enjoy his solitude which at least promised to be France-free.

And it really had worked out, somehow. It wasn't like Gilbert needed his brother's company anyway. He had friends of his own. And he knew that he was welcome at their places. But from time to time, he had wondered if it would be better if he had just given in and accept the relationship his brother had lived in for longer than he even cared to admit. Since somewhen in the 50s or 60s, I don't know, it was a busy time back then, Ludwig had told him the one time he had cared to ask and actually listen.

Right now, Gilbert considered himself proven. He didn't know what had happened, but he was sure that France had done something really, really bad as he always had expected of him. Gilbert noticed that he was fisting his brother's shirt in anger and quickly relaxed. He didn't want to fight now. He didn't even feel like gloating, telling his brother that he had been right all along. Right now, there was only one thing Gilbert could think about and that was consoling his baby brother and soothing his bruised if not broken heart.

If Gilbert just knew how to do that. All he felt like he could be doing was being here even though he wasn't wanted and petting the crying Ludwig. And he could see that this didn't do any well. He had to admit that Ludwig had cuddled himself up against his chest, but that was about it. It still felt like they were miles apart.

With a sigh, Gilbert pulled himself free. His brother looked up for a second, a questioning look on his face. Gilbert wasn't sure if Ludwig wanted him to stay or just wondered what he was doing here. Gilbert bit his lower lip. He didn't like the second thought. “I'll be right back,” he whispered as he brushed through his brother's now messy hair. He didn't bend down to kiss his forehead like he would have done when his brother had been a child.

A little reluctant – well, Gilbert hoped he wasn't imagining it – Ludwig let him go. The look in his brother's eyes told him to stay and made Gilbert bite down harder. He would have to be careful not to draw blood. But it would do no good if he would let his brother cry all night, he told himself. Judging by the time Ludwig had returned, he hadn't eaten yet and Gilbert was hungry so he had figured that something to eat wouldn't hurt and maybe even cheer his little brother up a bit – or at least stop crying which Gilbert found creepy and eerily exciting at the same time.

In the kitchen, Gilbert had to decide what to do. There wasn't much food. He had planed on eating snacks tonight and maybe even tomorrow before he would go shopping. But that wasn't what he wanted to offer Ludwig. He was sure that his brother wasn't a fan of junk food. 

So he sat down on his computer and ordered them pizza. He had to guess which sort his brother liked and just hoped his tastes hadn't changed a lot from the time when Gilbert was sure he knew what he had liked. In the end, he gave up guessing and simply ordered the most popular one for Ludwig and his own favorite for himself. Then, he also decided that desert and ice cream would also be not bad and ordered some of those as well.

Before he went back into Ludwig's bedroom, he grabbed two beer. Even though he wasn't sure whether or not it was a good idea to give his baby brother alcohol, he would need it in a situation like this. And he figured that any harm it could do he would be able to take care of the results.

He sat down on the edge of his brother's bed again and handed him one of the bottles. “I thought you could use some,” he murmured. He still had no idea what to say. “I ordered pizza, it should be here in half a hour, maybe less.” Ludwig nodded, nursing on his beer. Well, at least, Gilbert had done one thing right. He softly brushed through his brother's hair. “When pizza's here, we could go into the living room and watch some TV, okay?” he offered. Eating in bed was a no-no, even though he enjoyed it sometimes. Cleaning up afterwards was usually too much of a pain. And he was sure there would be something on television, it was Friday after all and if there wasn't anything, there would be soccer and that was something they could both agree on. They just couldn't agree on the team they cheered for.

Ludwig nodded slowly. Gilbert put an arm around him and pulled him closer. “We'll get you through this, I promise,” he whispered. After all, he was an awesome big brother and an adult, he knew how to behave.

 

点点点

 

An hour later, they were sitting in the living room with their pizzas and watched some more or less bad crime series on kabel1. Gilbert had left the couch to his brother and half sat, half lied on the floor in front of it. They didn't talk and stared at the TV while eating but Gilbert considered it an improvement. His brother had at least stopped crying. The pizza was just as good as always and Gilbert was happy with that. This was almost a little bit better than what he had planned for himself.

During one of the commercial breaks – Gilbert swore they got longer every year – he got up. “Care for another beer?” he asked his brother. Ludwig shrugged. He hadn't even half of his pizza and Gilbert had ordered the smallest size for him. “So Coke it is,” he sighed, being a responsible adult. He wouldn't let his brother drink himself into oblivion. Even though he would have liked another beer.

He came back with a bottle and two glasses. Ludwig hadn't moved at all and was watching the commercials with some sort of interest, well, at least with the same interest as he had been watching the series. Gilbert glanced at the clock on the wall. Heute wouldn't be up for another hour and the tagesthemen weren't worth watching on Friday nights. He sighed again. He really would like to know what happened. And if it was bad enough to be on the news or if it was just personal.

Not that it would make much of a difference. Considering the state his brother was in, he probably shouldn't watch the news anyway. As much as he knew how much his brother liked watching the news, he doubted it was the right thing to watch tonight. Mindless entertainment of any sort was much better. Gilbert could look up the news on his phone later.

 

点点点

 

At quarter past ten, Gilbert decided it was late enough for bed. He switched off the TV. His brother didn't complain at all. This made Gilbert sigh again. He was sure they would have enjoyed a certain program at half past. It was the main reason why he had decided to get to bed early. Worse than news was this one particular show. And he didn't even want to risk zapping into it.

He got the pizza boxes and took them to the kitchen. There, he packed the leftovers on a plate to put them into the fridge. It was enough left for breakfast or lunch the next day. Ludwig had followed him and watched him from the doorframe. Gilbert pretended not to feel creeped out by that behaviour. He wasn't used to have someone following him around anymore.

“Do you want to stay in my bed,” he sighed after a while. It wasn't as much a question as it was a statement. He was sure he couldn't leave his brother alone like this. By then, Gilbert was standing in front of his computer and shutting it down for the night – after taking the time to scan the headlines. There wasn't anything there yet. But who knew, maybe tomorrow.

Ludwig was following him as he went in Ludwig's room to get him pyjamas and watched motionlessly. He also followed him as he went to his own room. At this point, Gilbert did sigh again. He pushed the pyjamas into his brother's arms. He had definitely not blushed. “You know how to get changed by yourself, don't you?” he mumbled. “You're too old to make your awesome big brother help you change.”

Gilbert turned away to take his own pyjamas and change into them. He didn't dare to turn around and look at Ludwig, but by the sound of it, he changed as well. It would have been muh too awkward for Gilbert to sleep in the same bed with him naked. It just wasn't what one did.

Gilbert looked after it that his brother would brush his teeth – he started to feel like more than a hundred years ago when he had tried to raise his brother as well as he could – and then got into his bed. Sharing it with Ludwig was something he had never expected and he was glad it was big enough for both of them and some space in between. Ludwig lay down with his back turned to him. Gilbert smiled at that a little. Somehow, his little brother had grown but hadn't changed much in his eyes. He still acted like he had as a child, half cuddling with his blanket.

“Good night,” Gilbert whispered as he turned off the lights. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to kiss Ludwig's forehead anymore for good night but he did it anyway. Ludwig answered with a grunt and then, after a while: “Sleep thight.”

Gilbert smiled to himself as he closed his eyes for the night.


	2. ...what you got

Next morning, Gilbert stared into his second cup of coffee. He had had his first before he went to the bakery to get them breakfast – Brötchen, definitely none of the wheaten sorts – and then had to walk a little further because he had forgotten that the nearest bakery was Turkish and sold mostly stuff that dripped with sugar. He wasn't even annoyed by that. The little walk did help him waken up and act like he had slept at all.

Which he hadn't. He had tried but then given up on it. It was just so odd to have Ludwig lying next to him. He was unlike anyone else Gilbert had had there in a long while. And he knew that he wasn't supposed to cuddle this time.

Gilbert kept telling himself that it was him being unfamiliar with Ludwig in his bed that hadn't let him sleep. In truth, he hadn't been able to sleep because he never managed to shut out his worries about his little brother. That it had been hours before Ludwig had stopped sobbing didn't help much either. By five in the morning, Gilbert's nerves had been so much on edge he didn't even want to stay in bed anymore. So he had gotten up, showered, gotten dressed and then went to buy breakfast.

It was eight now and Ludwig hadn't stirred yet.

Gilbert was chewing on his Brötchen on which he had smeared jam and browsing the news pages he knew. There was nothing on the BILD website where he looked first, nothing on the online versions of sueddeutsche or spiegelonline. He wondered if whatever had happened was really all personal. This would make things worse in his book. He wouldn't forgive that stupid frog eater for tearing his little baby brother's heart apart for personal reasons. If that was the only reason, they shouldn't have gotten together in the first place, Gilbert caught himself thinking. He pushed his plate away a little too violently. And maybe, he should stop talking only to Roderich about relationships because said one's shitty views on all this started to rub off onto him.

By nine, Gilbert gave up on waiting. He went back into his bedroom and sat down close to Ludwig. Leaning with half his weight onto his brother because he had noticed that the latter was awake, Gilbert purred: “You can't hide in here forever.”

Ludwig tried to push his brother off and pull the blanket over his head at the same time. It was, of course, in vain. Gilbert was used to deal with a certain someone who was not a morning person either. “I can try,” Ludwig grumbled after a while. His voice sounded hoarse from all the sobbing and silent crying.

“I bought breakfast,” Gilbert volunteered. Then, because he hadn't slept much and it was all Ludwig's fault and not in a nice way, he added: “When I bought them at seven they were still hot.”

Ludwig huffed. “I'm not hungry,” he murmured. Gilbert knew his little brother was lying. He had heard his stomach growl before.

“I also got muesli,” Gilbert purred, leaning down so he could utter the words directly into his brother's ear. “And fresh fruit. Yogurt. All the stuff you like.” He tried to sound as alluring as possible. It wasn't that easy for him. He usually had just to mention one certain beverage to get other people out of his bed and into the kitchen.

Ludwig grunted. It seemed like he thought for a moment. “There's also coffee, right?” he asked carefully after a while.

Gilbert beamed at him as bright as he could. “Of course there is,” he grinned. The prospect of getting Ludwig to have breakfast did just enough to cheer him up. He got off his little brother. “Now get up,” he hummed, crawling off the bed himself. “You can stay in bed for the rest of the day.” Before he went back to the kitchen, he opened the roller blinds to let the morning sun into the bedroom. Just adding another reason for Ludwig to get up, he told himself.

 

点点点

 

It was while preparing dinner when Gilbert finally lost his patience. He had put up with Ludwig's gloomy mood for longer than even he himself would have thought he could. Okay, he had dragged his brother to eat out this noon, just to watch him pretend everything was fine. But it wasn't fair at all that he had to put up with the constant sighing and whatnot on his free days. He even got glared at for texting one of his friends with a smile on his face.

And now he was peeling and chopping potatoes for dinner while he could feel his brother's gaze on his back and it unnerved him to no end. Also, he was sure Ludwig was on the edge of crying again and he couldn't put up with those watery eyes anymore. He needed to do something. His inner voice told him that this just proved how much he lacked tact. He hated himself for thinking this and sounding like that stupid priss in his head.

Gilbert slammed the knife down on the cutting board. It sent cubes of potatoes flying but he didn't care just now. Swiftly, he turned around to face his brother. “Get a grip, will you?” he hissed. Gilbert was far too angry to yell just yet.

Ludwig flinched under his big brother's fierce glare. He was even to shocked for his eyes to tear up. Gilbert watched him gulp and shift uncomfortably in his seat. But Ludwig didn't seem to be able to speak up under his brother's angry stare.

“Do you want to drown yourself into self-pity for the rest of your life?” Gilbert hissed, stalking closer to his brother. Ludwig quickly shook his head. “No?” Gilbert repeated. “Then tell me...” His voice had become softer. He put a hand down on the table and the other one on the back of the chair Ludwig was sitting in and leaned towards his little brother's face.

“WHAT ARE YOU, A MAN OR A WIMP?” Gilbert yelled, letting all his pent-up rage out at once.

To Ludwig's credit, Gilbert had to admit that only his left eye closed for a split second while he was yelled at. Gilbert was glad this was all the reaction he got. Roderich would have slapped him and Gilbert wasn't sure if his eardrum would survive a slap coming from Ludwig. Probably not.

Gilbert patted his baby brother's cheek. “Then tell me why a grown man like you would cry this much,” he said softly. “Did Francis” The way Ludwig flinched when he mentioned that name gratified Gilbert deeply even though he wouldn't show that. “Did Francis cut off your balls?”

Again, Ludwig shook his head quickly. Gilbert watched his brother then pause, look down and reach for the left side of his chest and fist the fabric of his shirt there. A pang of sympathy flickered up in Gilbert. He knew the feelings his baby brother was currently suffering from. But he also knew they passed. And Ludwig needed to learn this fast and maybe even the hard way if Gilbert didn't want to suffer from his brother's current mood much longer. He shoved the sympathy back down where it had come from.

Gilbert leaned even closer to his brother. “Are you sure about that?” he asked. He still made sure his voice was soft. It really was a good thing that he had years and centuries of training in dealing with annoying counterparts. “Let me check that,” he grinned. And with that, he reached down of the zipper of his brother's jeans.

He really deserved the blow that followed. 

Well, it wasn't so much a blow as it was a forceful push. Ludwig had caught him off balance and the sheer vigor of the action would have sufficed, when the moment of relative surprise had also added into it. Gilbert was sent to the ground and hit it hard. He was sure he also hit his head on one of the kitchen's cupboards.

“What the hell?” Gilbert hissed, fully aware that he had done something very wrong but not ready to ever admit that. “That hurt!”

“Good,” Ludwig answered, leaning back on the chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Gilbert grumbled. He had met his goal but he didn't like this. With some effort, he pushed himself up again and patted non-existent dust of his clothes.

“Care to answer my initial question,” Gilbert grumbled. “That's the least you could do. You're getting on my nerves.”

Ludwig raised an eyebrow. “I never asked you to come to my room,” he huffed. “And I also don't recall wanting you to fuss this much over me. I can take care of myself just fine.”

“Yeah, right,” Gilbert snorted. “That's why you went back to your house yesterday just like every other Friday.” He didn't look into his brother's face. There might be some hurt showing on his own.

Ludwig flinched. But he recovered from it very quickly. Gilbert would have missed it If he hadn't paid as close attention. “I didn't feel like driving so long,” Ludwig said, shrugging. “And I have to be in the office quite soon this Monday be-”

“Bullshit,” Gilbert cut his brother off. “You were afraid to go there and face your empty, boyfriend-deprived house.” He would never call that house his brother's home. In that case, he would have to acknowledge that his flat wasn't.

Ludwig looked hurt by the words, even more so because he had to admit it was the truth what Gilbert was yelling at him. He bit his lower lip and turned his head away from his big brother. “And even if you're right with that, what of it, really,” he pouted. “You never really cared about my relationship anyway.” 

Gilbert was sure this was what pouting sounded like coming from his little brother. He couldn't help himself but to giggle which earned him a stern glare. This reminded him so much of the cute little boy he had raised despite all odds – and despite the meddling of certain someones whom he had beaten in 1866 and 1871 respectively.

“I always cared about your relationship,” Gilbert retorted. He really did. Well, he had cared for it do end but now, he had to admit that he also cared for his brother's happiness and whatever made him happy. After all, he didn't want him to be sad. He just wished he would be included in his life some more. Old resentments made him add in his head, that getting Francis to be a non-existent part of it was a close second.

Ludwig sighed. “You were annoyed by it,” he corrected. Then he frowned. “And I guess you're just more annoyed by it being over now.”

“Well, a little,” Gilbert grinned, folding his arms behind his head. “But that doesn't change the fact that you cried and I would love to know why.” He laughed. “I haven't seen you cry like this since forever. Actually, I haven't seen you cry this much since Specs wouldn't stop yelling at you for mixing salt and sugar up when he was baking.”

Ludwig blushed faintly. Gilbert grinned at that because of course he had said that on purpose. There was nothing better than making his little brother feel embarrassed from time to time. “If you don't tell me, I'll tell you some more of the story in case you forgot about it,” Gilbert purred. He was sure his brother knew he would. He had proven capable of things like that countless times.

“We had a worse fight than usual and I, sort of, ran away in the middle of it,” Ludwig grumbled after a while. 

Gilbert nodded. “I already figured that you had a fight, you know.” He paused. “Wait, what? A worse fight than usual?” he repeated.

Ludwig turned away. He nodded. “We have been fighting a lot lately,” he admitted lowly. He sighed. “I don't even know anymore why we had been fighting.” Another sigh. “I feel so terrible.”

Gilbert tilted his head. He wasn't sure if he was able to follow his brother's chain of thought. “So you were fighting about nothing in particular and...?” he asked. Sometimes, he wasn't sure if his brother maybe was an idiot after all.

Ludwig shrugged. “That's it,” he said.

Gilbert sighed. He extended his hand towards his brother. “Your phone,” he demanded.

“What?” Ludwig sounded puzzled.

“Gimme your phone,” Gilbert repeated. Rolling his eyes like he had seen Roderich do it so many times, he added: “I'm calling Francis.”

“No!” his little brother dared to oppose him. Gilbert glared at him for that.

“I'm cleaning up your mess so be grateful,” he snarled. Then, his mouth twitched upwards. “But I see that you left your phone in the bedroom. Well, that's solves the problem of your cooperation.”

He left before Ludwig could get up and hurried to his bedroom. First thing he did there was locking the door. Then, he snatched his brother's cell phone from the nightstand and starting searching through the address book.


	3. ... your petty fights and your idiocy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilbert calls Francis with an unexpected outcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Thanks to my fiancée and my best friend, I will change the plot I had planned and turn this even more into the triangle they want. I don't mind, I really love to write these three as a threesome/ménage à troi.
> 
> 2\. Politicians mentioned in this text (so you get the things I wrote):
> 
> \- François Hollande is the current President of France and as mentioned member of the French Socialist Party, which is not as bad a thing in Europe as it sounds to Americans.
> 
> \- Angela "Mutti" Merkel is the Chancellor of Germany (as of now, this might change in the next few months even if this is rather unlikely). I will stop calling her Mutti as soon as the quality newspapers and all satire shows on German TV cease to refer to her in that way. Or eventually just replace it with Omi. Who knows what comes first.
> 
> \- There has been a little "scandal" involving the German Minister of Finance and a game of Sudoku a while ago. Google it.
> 
> 3\. Ludwig not wanting to lend either Gilbert nor Francis any money. To sum it up, France is in financial trouble right now which leads to a bit of talk about needing to do something about on an European level and the West of Germany (in various, state based coalitions) is strongly opposed to giving the East money (or, well, to give any other state any money, based on who you ask).

Gilbert ignored his brother knocking and hammering against the door. He wouldn't dare to break the door down, Gilbert was sure of that. He also ignored the pleading which was a bit harder because it made Gilbert feel the tiniest bit guilty about what he was doing. On the other hand, he was an awesome big brother and just there to fix his brother's life even though he didn't like some of Ludwig's life choices. That's what a good big brother did.  
He didn't even have to search for the entry with Francis' number. “You saved you lover's addresses like any other business contact?” Gilbert called out to his brother. He really disapproved of his brother's lack of sense for romance. Then again, he hadn't much of that, either. “I'm really disappointed in you,” he added anyway.  
“Well, if you would give me my phone, I could change it,” Ludwig yelled back. Gilbert ignored that remark and instead hit Francis' private number and then the call button popping up on the screen. For a moment, he wondered if he should set it on speaker but decided against it. Francis would be able to hear Ludwig's protest no matter what.  
Gilbert listened to the dial tones. It unnerved him,just as always. He hated to wait for others to pick up their phone. They should pick up by the first ring when he was calling. That was his opinion at least. Finally, he heard the awaited crack in the line, followed by Francis' voice, “Ludwig, listen, if this is about yesterday...”  
“This isn't Ludwig,” Gilbert interrupted. His voice was almost, only barely not a snarl. “It's Gilbert. I need to talk to you.”  
Francis was silent for some heartbeats. Then, after he recovered from his surprise or so it seemed, he asked, “Did you murder your brother?”  
“I wan- wait, what? Why would I murder him?!” Gilbert hissed. “Why would you think that?”  
“Well, you have his phone and you called me of all people, so I figured,” Francis replied. He didn't sound half as concerned as Gilbert wished he would. This was probably all just tactics to make him lose control of his temper.  
“He gave it to me,” Gilbert lied.  
“Ludwig never gives his cell to anyone,” Francis said calmly. “So, what did you do? If you hurt him I swear...”  
Gilbert blinked. Now Francis did sound concerned. The undertone in his voice just now had almost been frightening. Then again, he was talking to Francis who had never managed to defeat him in modern times so it could be alright. “I snatched it off him and locked him out of the room,” Gilbert admitted. “Are you happy now?”  
“No,” Francis huffed. “Why the heck are you calling me?”  
“Because Ludwig's getting on my nerves with his constant look of total miserableness,” Gilbert snarled. “And I want you to make up again.”  
“Make him apologize to me first,” Francis said coldly. “I won't talk to him properly before he said he's sorry for what he said and that he won't ever say it again.”  
Gilbert sighed. So he had thought they had gotten over that age. “What did he said, Francis?” he asked, as softly as possible. What ever it was, it was bound to be stupid. Even Specs had a certain class to his insults and Gilbert very much doubted that his brother had any of it. Then again, neither had Francis.  
“He called my boss socialist,” Francis complained.  
“So?” Gilbert sighed. “As far as I recall, he's member of the socialist party.”  
“But that's beside the point!” Francis insisted. “He made it sound like an insult!”  
It was like he was talking to a five year-old. This was the best his brother could come up with? They needed to talk about this as soon as Gilbert had time to. “What did you call him in return?” Gilbert asked. He made his voice sound stern, as he had back when his brother had been a small child. He felt weary but he needed to know as much as possible about the fight.  
“I called him mama's boy,” Francis mumbled. He sounded embarrassed. Good, Gilbert thought. That was at least something.  
“Which he is,” Gilbert nodded. He wondered what he had done wrong that let his baby brother into calling a woman like Merkel Mutti. “Well, that's it, is it? You really had a fight because of that?” He put the phone a bit further away from his mouth. He didn't want Francis to hear that he was close to break into laughter.  
“Well, he also didn't want to lend me money for a cup of coffee,” Francis added sulkily, making it sound as if this was far less an insult than having his boss called socialist.  
Gilbert sighed. “Listen, he doesn't even lend me any money and we're practically the same country,” Gilbert said. He didn't really consider himself the same country as his brother when it came to domestic policies, but as far as Francis was concerned this was beside the point. He drew in a deep breath. Not breaking into laughter with these two fighting was hard. “I hope you know you're both being stupid,” Gilbert informed Francis, loud enough to be heard at the other side of the door as well.  
“There's nothing stupid about fighting when your partner doesn't trust you,” Francis pouted.  
“Yeah, right, fight,” Gilbert chuckled. “You fight like little boys. You know what you sound like? You sound like, 'Daddy, daddy,'” Gilbert started imitating the voice of a child. “'He destroyed the sandcastle I made.' -'Just because he stole my shovel first.'”  
A moment of embarrassed silence at the other end of the line followed. Then Francis grumbled, “Shut up, Gilbert.”  
“Let me guess, you started with a discussion about where to head for dinner, right?” Gilbert mused. “Amateurs. I'm sure you also fight about who's washing the dishes even though both of you know that it's always Ludwig who does because you think you're the better cook.” He was already laughing now.  
There was no answer from the phone and no answer from the door as well. Gilbert strolled over to turn the key around again, unlocking the door. He doubted Ludwig wanted to get inside anymore.  
“Do you want me to call Rodkins to set up a date for beginner's lessons with you?” Gilbert volunteered. “Looks to me like you really need a 'Relationship quarrels 101'. Gosh, you don't break up over something as stupid as that.”  
There was silence at the other end of the line. Then, puzzled, Francis said, “Whoever said anything about breaking-up?”  
Gilbert blinked. “You're not?” he asked. That came unexpected. The way Ludwig had acted the day before and today, Gilbert had been sure he had been dumped. Any other explanation that had come to his mind just hadn't fit. It still didn't fit. “But what are you doing then?” he asked dumbfounded.  
“We...” Gilbert waited as Francis paused. “We needed a break. Well, I needed one anyways and it was his idea in the first place so …” Francis sighed. “Is he alright? You called because you were concerned, right?” Francis sounded worried.  
“He just came home crying, if that's what you would call alright,” Gilbert snorted. “And he slept in my bed. If that's what he does when he's okay then yes, I think he's alright.”  
He could hear Francis gulp on the other end of the line. “And how is he now?” he asked lowly after a while. He sounded so horribly worried that it almost made Gilbert feel bad. Then he remembered that he never ever would want to feel bad because of Francis' misery. He should rather be satisfied that he managed to talk that stupid frog into having at least a bit of a bad conscience. Poor little Ludwig had looked devastated yesterday and today as well. Gilbert wasn't ready to admit that he might not have know enough about their relationship and its problems to meddle with it.  
“I don't know,” Gilbert answered slowly. “Haven't heard him since I started talking to you.” He grinned. “But I can go looking for him, if you want me to.” He would, but he didn't want to hand over the cell phone just now. Of course, he didn't tell Francis this much.  
Silence. Then, “Yes, please.” It sounded almost like a sigh. And he was definitely worried, something that irritated Gilbert to no end. It almost put him off wanting to learn more about the relationship between Francis and his brother.  
Gilbert left the bedroom and looked into the hallway. His brother had gone. He hadn't expected him to be there. After all, Gilbert wouldn't have waited for him to finish the call. Well, maybe if he had been sulking but he didn't really think Ludwig would be sulking. Gilbert was doing the right thing in his opinion after all.  
Gilbert looked into the kitchen and Ludwig's bedroom, before he finally found his brother sitting in the couch in the living room. He was concentrated on something on his tablet. Too busy to even look up when Gilbert walked into the room and much too busy to do as much as raise his head when Gilbert slumped down on the couch right next to him. They both knew this lack of attention drove Gilbert somewhat mad.  
“Watcha doing?” Gilbert asked, ignoring the fact that he still had Francis on the line and trying to peer on the screen to see whatever it was that his brother was doing.  
“Sudoku,” Ludwig muttered back, still rather tapping around on the screen than looking up while talking to his brother.  
“He's playing sudoku on his tablet,” Gilbert informed Francis. "I don't think he has time talking to you right now, he's much too busy for doing even as much as raising his head when he's talking to his awesome brother. Perhaps he's playing against a old dude in a wheelchair."  
“I'm not playing against one of my bosses,” Ludwig huffed. So he was listening after all, good, Gilbert thought. After a little pause, Ludwig added reluctantly, “Not often anyway.” Gilbert laughed.  
“Gilbert,” Francis said, pleading but with an accent so heavy Gilbert didn't want to recongnice is own name. “Would you pass the phone on so I could talk to my ch- … to your brother,” Francis quickly corrected himself before he said something that would make Gilbert angry at him again.  
“No,” Gilbert said without even thinking. “As I said,he's too busy to talk right now.” Gilbert wanted them to make up again, yes, but he also hoped they wouldn't. He still disliked it that his brother's taste in men was this bad. There were lots of better men around. Even Specs would have been better than Francis, Gilbert claimed.  
Ludwig looked up. “But I want to talk to Francis,” he said, putting his tabled aside. “Hand me the phone.”  
Gilbert furrowed his brows, trying to look as stern as he could. That look had never worked on Ludwig when he had been a child but maybe, things had changed. “No, you don't,” Gilbert decided, holding the phone out of his brother's reach. “He made you cry, so you don't want to talk to him.”  
Ludwig tried to snatch his phone back from his brother, but Gilbert streched his arm as far away from him as possible and when this wasn't enough, he even leaned back. With his free hand, Gilbert tried to hold his brother off. When that failed – Gilbert blamed it on his brother being heavier and more muscular than he had been as kid – he also tried kicking him, which did him no good as well.  
An irritated look on his face, Ludwig put one of his knees between his brother's legs. Gilbert's breath caught as Ludwig leaned over him to grab the cell phone. Gilbert gulped hart. He suddenly felt nervous and his heart was beating much too fast. His sweet little Ludwig's eyes looked so endearingly earnest.  
Distracted, he let the phone slip from his hand. His arms were around his brother's neck before it even hit the ground.


	4. ... to let me fulfill my desire.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilbert decides, that more or less forcing himself onto Ludwig is definitely more important than any phone call.

Gilbert pressed his nose against his brother's neck. He didn't dare to breathe. Suddenly, oh so suddenly, they were close like this. Gilbert bit his lower lip, trying not to move and not to make any noise. He could feel Ludwig's heartbeat, felt his chest move with every unsteady breath, felt the warmth of the younger's body against his own. He was sure as soon as he stirred, this would be over. Ludwig had to push him away. Gilbert couldn't imagine any different reaction. His brother had a boyfriend after all.

Who could hear them perfectly fine, if the fall hadn't damaged the cell phone.

Gilbert gulped. Francis would kill him for this. That was also something he was very sure about. And yet he still didn't want to let go. It had been too long since he had held his dear little Ludwig in his arms like that, almost 90 years if he recalled it correctly. He had missed this so often when they had been separated.

It felt like he had held Ludwig for only a second when he finally stiffened again and tried to free himself from his elder brother. “Gilbert,” Ludwig grumbled. “Let go of me.” He didn't sound too annoyed, did he? Gilbert was almost sure Ludwig at least didn't resent him for this.

“Just one more second,” Gilbert murmured. He was trying to memorize as much as possible, his brother's smell, the way his chest heaved, the feel of his skin against Gilbert's face. “One more second,” he repeated, closing his eyes and breathing in deep and slow. Without really intending to, his fingers started to stroke over Ludwig's shoulders and then, one even started tracing his spine while the other hand rubbed over the nape of Ludwig's neck. Gilbert heard him sigh.

“Stop it,” Ludwig sighed. “Please.” He didn't sound angry which was a relief for Gilbert. But he also didn't sound much resolute so Gilbert decided he could ignore the plea. Instead, he started nuzzling against his brother's neck.

“I promise I will be nice,” Gilbert hummed. He carefully kissed Ludwig's cheek, avoided looking him in the eye though. He wasn't sure what he would find there and he didn't want to find out just yet. “I can be really nice.” With this, he slid his hand under his brother's shirt, thankful that he wasn't wearing one of his button-up shirts like usually but a simple t-shirt. He hadn't even bothered to tuck it down into his jeans, much to Gilbert's delight now.

Ludwig's skin felt smooth under his fingers. Gilbert let out an appreciative hum. He hadn't expected this. Then again, he also hadn't expected Ludwig to give him free reign this easily. Again, he kissed his brother, this time on his neck, feeling his pulse against his lips. From before he would have expected Ludwig's pulse to quicken in a situation like this, at least a little. Confused, Gilbert leaned back to take a look into his brother's face.

Ludwig was blankly staring at the wall behind the couch, his clenched teeth so his lips formed a thin line. There was a trace of pink on his cheeks which made Gilbert smile. And he had thought his brother might have changed or grown up in these matters. But it looked like he was still the nervous young boy from back in the old days.

Gilbert pressed a reassuring kiss on his brother's lips. They felt warm and dry against his own. “It's alright,” he whispered. “I won't do anything you don't like. I promise.” One of his hands slid down his brother's back while he was speaking, down to the small of his back and then even further. This made Ludwig stiffen in his embrace for a moment before he relaxed again, inhaling sharply when Gilbert's hand found it's way to the inside of his tights.

“I don't like any of this,” Ludwig said through his clenched teeth. He was shaking lightly, his gaze now cast down to the floor to the place where Gilbert assumed the phone to be. “Stop it, Gilbert, please. Don't make me stop you.”

Gilbert chuckled. He didn't believe this for one second. He could see his brother didn't really mean what he was saying, the bulge in his jeans being all the proof he needed. Casually, Gilbert stroked up the inner of Ludwig's tights, slowly and as caressing as he could, watching the younger's eyes widen for a moment and then his face went stern again. Gilbert was sure, Ludwig was biting back a moan as he brushed lightly over his groin.

“But down here it feels like you really like it,” Gilbert hummed, stroking lazily over the growing bulge in the thick fabric. Ludwig twitching into his hand was all the reassurance he needed to know he was wanted and the grin on his face widened even further. What ever Ludwig would say now, he wouldn't stop until forced to. Suddenly, as he started fingering the bulge with some needy pleasure, he felt Ludwig's knee shift forward, further between his legs until it touched Gilbert's groin. A soft moan escaped Gilbert's throat as he started moving against his brother's leg, the friction fueling his arousal and making him want to push Ludwig on the couch and ravish him.

Gilbert placed a hand on Ludwig's shoulder to slowly push him into a sitting position, trying to preserve the contact between his groin and the younger's knee as long as possible. Gilbert himself sat up as well,but only for a brief moment, before he slid down to the floor, kneeling in front of his brother and grinning up at him mischievously.

“What are you up to?” Ludwig croaked. His cheeks were aflush, worse than ever, his usually oh-so tidy hair starting to become a mess – which it definitely would if Gilbert could help it – his mouth slightly open as he panted.

“Nothing bad,” Gilbert grinned. He shifted closer, moving his upper body forward to place a brief kiss on the younger's groin. “You just open your legs a bit and I'll show you,” he purred, moving his fingers up and down and in circles on the inside of Ludwig's tights. “Don't you want to know how I feel around here?” He grabbed the bulge in Ludwig's jeans – more and more looking like a tent – and gave it a light squeeze that made Ludwig moan.

Ludwig bit his lower lip instead of answering but let Gilbert push his legs open without any resistance. “For the protocol, I never wanted this, you forced me to,” he hissed as Gilbert started undoing his fly and the button of his jeans. Gilbert simply grinned and nodded, he was fine with being the one at fault as long as he would get everything his way. Francis really wasn't his problem.

As Gilbert tugged down the rim of Ludwig's boxers, his almost fully erect dick jumped easily out of his confinement. Gilbert licked his lips in anticipation. It was a bit smaller than he had expected but he really didn't mind because this would make things definitely easier. For a second, he glanced up at Ludwig, before he closed one of his hands around the base and kissed the tip. He couldn't help but chuckle softly as he heard the younger drawing in a sharp breath at the not-too sudden sensation.

Slowly, Gilbert started planting kisses on the lower side of his brother's cock, moving his fingers caressingly in lazy circles over the yet dry skin. He worked his way with his lips down to Ludwig's balls and then back up again, before he withdrew for a moment to look up again into Ludwig's much too blue, lust filled eyes. Never had he seen anything more beautiful or astonishing in his life. With a needy sigh, Gilbert stroked the foreskin down and then licked first the shaft copiously before he moved on to kissing the tip, licking away a tiny bead of precome and wrapping his tongue around it.

For a while, Gilbert continued like this, lazy strokes over the shaft and slow pumping paired with sloppy kisses and brief sucks on the tip. Once in a while, Gilbert palmed the younger's balls through the thin fabric of his boxers and listened to his suffocated moans whenever he did something more arousing. Ludwig's fingers had found their way into Gilbert's hair, simply stroking and brushing through it at first but then, soon, tugging at it, fisting it because he needed someplace to hold on to.

With time, Gilbert felt his own arousal more and more, with it being still confined in the narrow space of his own jeans, making him wish he was wearing sweatpants like he usually did on weekends. He took one of his hands off his brother's cocks to fumble his own jeans open and free his throbbing erection. The sudden removal of one hand earned him an irritated tug. Glancing up at Ludwig, he was met with a questioning look. Not for long, though, as he quickly started planting apologetic kisses on his brother's tip.

“I'll make you feel good in no time, I promise,” Gilbert whispered in between kisses. He took the tip of his brother's cock into his mouth, wrapping his tongue around it and sucking it gently at first, than stronger while he was taking him deeper into his mouth at the same time. He heard a strangled noise escaping Ludwig's throat and chuckled, “Don't hold back, I want to hear your voice.” He really did, this sound just now had been arousing, but not nearly as arousing as he imagined his little Ludwig's moans to be.

Gilbert took a deep breath, before he took the younger's arousal again into his mouth, slowly swallowing him deeper, inch by inch. He was glad that this wasn't his first time, that he had done this so many times already that he exactly knew what to do. Slowly, he started rocking his head a bit, varying the intensity of his sucking, his tongue licking over the lower side of the delicious hard-on in his mouth.

He felt the tip brushing against the back of his mouth and still he couldn't fit all of him inside. It took him only a moment to relax enough to swallow him deeper, feeling the hard length glide down into his throat. Gilbert moaned softly as his brother started to make him move his head with tender tugs at his hair and fucking his throat with gentle rolls of his hips.

Gilbert worked his fingers around his own arousal as well, the feeling of Ludwig filling his mouth and throat fueling his desire and need and lust even more, almost as much as the touch of his own fingers. His movements had already become sloppy and incoherent and his fingers shook so much that they slipped of his erection even though he didn't want him to.

He had placed his other hand on Ludwig's hip, steadying the thrusts and keeping himself from choking on the hard-on fucking his throat. Ludwig was already shaking as well, his fingers uncurling and then clenching again in Gilbert's silver hair. Gilbert grinned a bit – as much as he could with a mouth full of cock – and started to suck harder. He wanted Ludwig to feel go, to loosen up – he wanted to taste him and make him spill everything he had down his throat.

What felt like only seconds later, Ludwig started pulling at his hair, apparently trying to pull out of Gilbert's mouth, but Gilbert would only pretend to let him go until he was almost free and then, holding him in place with both his hands on his brother's hips, taking him in again as deep as he could, letting his teeth softly brush over the erection.

Ludwig let out a loud moan that wasn't any coherent words – and to Gilbert's relief no name – as he came, shooting his hot semen down Gilbert's throat. Now Gilbert let him slip out of his mouth but kept the tip inside, massaging his balls and sucking the tip of the softening dick to make sure he got everything that Ludwig had.

Gilbert leaned back when he was done with Ludwig, grinning at his brother with hazy eyes as he took care of his own neglected arousal, stroking it slowly to orgasm to the sight of Ludwig's panting, exhausted frame. He really wouldn't mind doing this more often.

But it seemed like Ludwig didn't. As soon as he had recovered enough, he redid his pants to get up and, after picking up the phone they had dropped earlier, disappeared into his room, locking it behind him. Gilbert was left alone in the living room, his mouth wide open with disbelief and with his penis still in his hands, feeling disappointed.


	5. ... To be yelled at

Gilbert spent the rest of the day sulking in his room. He had no idea if that even got noticed by his brother. Now and again, he listened for noises in the flat but never heard anything, save for one time when he thought he heard a hushed, yet agitated conversation. At that, Gilbert hugged his cushion closer.

 

He didn't regret what he had done. He told himself that he should have done this years ago, even. It wasn't like relationships lasted forever. Not even that stupid Austrian's marriage with Elizabetha had, no matter what it had felt like to him or what it still did look like today. And he was right to make a move soon enough so he would still be the first, he reminded himself, shaking off that last trail of thought. He was sure his brother attracted enough people. After all, it was his brother and that meant he had to be awesomely handsome, as it ran in the family.

 

With what kind of sorcery Francis had tricked the poor boy into a relationship Gilbert would never understand. Since he had gotten to know about it,he had always wondered if Arthur had had his hands in with it or if their bosses, and everyone else's too, had forced them to and by now it was just more bothersome to break up than to simply leave things the way they are. He really hoped that he tipped the scale in favor of break-up with what he had done.

 

After all, he had witnessed that kind of relationship before. And he had seen how it ended, even though those two had at least been in love with each other. He didn't consider Francis and Ludwig to be in some sort of love for even one second.

点点点

 

On Monday morning, Gilbert stared glumly into his mug of coffee during breakfast. He hasn't slept well the last tow nights. Actually, he hasn't slept at all. Ludwig and him had spent the Sunday avoiding each other which had went surprisingly well for them living together in a two bedroom flat and having nothing to do on Sundays. Well, at least Gilbert had nothing to do because he had when he had gotten around to glimpse in his brother's room, it had looked like Ludwig had been burying himself in work.

 

Now, Ludwig was sitting at the same table as his awesome big brother, having breakfast while reading the news or his mails or something,and not paying Gilbert any attention at all. He hadn't even spoken to him, save for an muttered reply to Gilbert's “Good morning” and handing him some copies with a handwritten note attached. Gil wasn't thrilled at all by what he has to read there.

 

“You know, you could simply tell me that you're mad at me,” Gilbert grumbled, still staring at the copies. Travel plans and appointments all over the republic and it wasn't like he would be going on his own either. Gilbert hoped if he stared at it long enough the stuff in front of him would cease to exist to the point of being wiped from everyone's memory.

 

Ludwig didn't look up from whatever he was reading. “I'm not mad,” he said calmly. “Is there any reason why you would assume I was mad at you?” He sounded so awfully calm and collected Gilbert felt the urge to punch him in the face, brother or not.

 

Gilbert slammed the copies on the table. It had taken him some effort not to throw them into his brother's stupid face. To think that he even had wanted that brat to love him any more than a brother should. “Because of this shit,” Gilbert hissed. “You know I hate that guy!”

 

Ludwig shrugs. “I don't have time to go and one of us should,” he said flatly. “I have more important things to do next week. I'm sure you can do this, you know how to act nice around people you don't like.” From the corner of his eye, Ludwig looked at him. “I know you can around Roderich and Ivan, at least. And those are the people you claim to hate the most.” His voice had turned to ice while he was saying this which confused Gilbert. He couldn't put his finger on it just now but he had a weird feeling about all of this.

 

“That's because I'm used to these creeps!” Gilbert whined. “I'm not putting up with him.” He pointed accusingly at the name on the first of the copies. “No way! I'd rather fuck Francis!”

 

The corners of Ludwig's mouth twitched. “You know that could be arranged,” he said smugly. Damn it, when had Ludwig learned how to act smug like that. Gilbert didn't like this. He really should have a word with whoever taught this to his baby brother. “After what you did on Saturday, I'm sure Francis wouldn't mind having your ass handed to him.”

 

Gilbert stared at his brother slack-jawedly. He thought his ears might not work properly because he was sure he couldn't have heard what he just thought to hear. It took him a while to recover from that. “So... you guys have made-up again then?” he cawed because he couldn't think of anything better with his mind still blank.

 

“We're working on it,” Ludwig said vaguely. “So, do you want me to ask Francis to come by and fuck you or will you start acting like an adult and do your job? It's not like he will kill you. There's no reason to be afraid of our president. And besides, I like him.”

 

For a moment or two, Gilbert was tempted to go with the first option, just to mess with his brother and get off the hook. He didn't really expect Ludwig to want to share his boyfriend with him. After all, they acted like they were married. Just going with it to see which one of them would chicken out first really was tempting. Gilbert took a sip of coffee to delay his answer for another few seconds.

 

By the time he put his empty mug down on the table, Gilbert was grinning. “I wouldn't mind Francis, really,” he said, his voice betraying that he's trying to provoke Ludwig. “Roderich always tells me how good a lover he had been.” That wasn't quite true and he was almost certain that Ludwig knew that as well but it was the first thing that came to his mind that he can use. At least, he was positive that he isn't lying about the fact that Francis and Roderich had fucked, at some point, probably. It was more likely than not.

 

Ludwig huffed. “Well then,” he sighed. “I'll call Francis if you call in sick at the office.” He took his cell out of the pocket of his suit coat. “So, you first. Francis wanted to swing by this week anyway. A day sooner wouldn't hurt at all.”

 

Gilbert snorted and took his own phone to search for his boss' number. Before he hit the call button, he blinked. Wait a second, there was something not right here. “And what are you going to do?” Gilbert asked. “You also have work to do.”

 

Ludwig smiled a smile that would have been very unnerving if it had been directly aimed at Gilbert. “That's the trouble here,” he said, calmer than Gilbert would have because from what he was saying Gilbert himself would have gloated by now. “As long as Francis is involved and my-- our bosses know he's here, it is work.”

 

Gilbert wasn't very close to saying “I fucking hate you sometimes” at all. Not even in the slightest. And his fists also weren't trembling with the urge to punch his brother. No, most definitely not. He was sure he hadn't raised him like that. The brother he had raised had been cute and studious and more concerned about his work than anything else. The years apart hadn't done Ludwig any good, in Gilbert's very valued opinion.

 

Swallowing most of his current rage, Gilbert finally finally forced himself to say, “Well, if you want me to fuck your boyfriend so bad...” He let his voice trail off in the end. And, just to prove his point, he now finally hit the call button and brought the phone to his ear. Ludwig wouldn't do him any harm in front of witnesses. What he would do as soon as Gilbert was finished calling was something else entirely though.

 

Turned out, all Ludwig did while he was calling was finishing his breakfast and then cleaning the table, putting the used dishes into the dishwasher and the leftovers into the fridge before he cleaned the table with a wet cloth. He wasn't done when Gilbert put his phone away sighing.

 

He had been left off the hook ominously easy, as if everyone already had expected him to chicken out or something. It gnawed a bit at his pride. Back in the old days he never would have dared anything like this and now everyone just assumed he was like that. But then again, in the old days things had been easier to begin with, plus they had been a lot less boring and fake. Well, okay, they had been as fake as things are now but in a different way.

 

“I called,” Gilbert grunted. “Your move.” He was really pissed about this whole affair. He shouldn't have let Ludwig provoke him this easily. It was like he had done exactly as Ludwig had wanted him to. The way his little brother had been smiling – or pulled a face that Gilbert had learned to count as a smile on Ludwig's part – while he had been calling was proof enough of this in Gilbert's opinion. It unnerved him almost as much as it would with Roderich acting all like a know-it-all again. And he would punch Roderich for that. Well, or at least slap him hard enough to notice. He didn't dare doing this to Ludwig. After all, he might not survive the counter.

 

Ludwig turned around. He was smiling as he leaned against the counter and dialed. It didn't even take him a minute to explain what was going on and ask him to come. That made Gilbert feel uncomfortably and fed his suspicion that he had acted just like his brother had wanted him to, having been manipulated into facing Francis, the person he currently hated the most. He had hated him the most for more than hundred years which only showed how much of a bastard the Frenchman was in his eyes. After all, Gilbert deemed himself a very forgiving person. But mostly, Gilbert felt angry at his brother for speaking French with his lover instead of a more neutral language.

 

After he was done, Ludwig slipped his phone back into his pocket. “He said he will be here around dinner,” he informed Gilbert. From what the latter could tell, his brother was really happy about this. Well, that meant at least one of them was looking forward to the visit. “Plenty of time to get something done before he arrives, don't you think?”

 

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. “Getting what done exactly?” he asked. The living room was spotless, as was his room and he dared to assume Ludwig's. The kitchen had been cleaned up just now. Gilbert was very serious about the weekly cleaning of his flat. Back when he had been younger, untidy rooms had not been tolerated. He hadn't been able to shake these habits off entirely so when the flat became a mess, he tended to clean it up afterwards. They would need to get groceries if they wanted to cook but he doubted that. Francis would whine too much if one of them did and he wouldn't allow that bastard to use his kitchen no matter what. So Gilbert had no idea what his brother could mean.

 

Ludwig pushed himself away from the counter. “My work,” he declared. “And yours. Just because you called in sick doesn't mean I'll allow you a lazy day. There's plenty of work you could do from your computer. And when you're done with that, I'm sure I will find you some more.” And with this, he walked to the door, just to stop there, turn and add, “I will check if you really are working. So don't even think about being lazy.” Then he left for his room.

 

Just a second before a tea towel could hit him, Ludwig was gone. “MANIPULATIVE ASSHOLE!” Gilbert yelled after him. He wished he had thrown something harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Just to be save: Every opinion expressed here is the characters' and not my own until stated otherwise. Thank you.
> 
> \- About Gilbert not liking the President of the FRG: Well, since I go with Gilbert = former GDR I can't imagine him to like someone who is rather unpopular in Eastern Germany. Besides my headcanon says that Gilbert really likes “Die Linke” and they practically hate Gauck for the obvious reason of him having been head of the Stasi archives for years. If you want to know more go look Joachim Gauck up, I bet Wikipedia has a decent article about him.
> 
> \- Tidy Gilbert: ...seriously, Prussia was said to be tidier and more obsessed with order than anyone else. I will never understand why Gilbert should be different.


End file.
